strong



UNITED stares PATENT ()FFICE.

JAMES B. STRONG, 0F I-IILLBUBN, NEW YORK.

cnossovnn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 28, 1920. Serial No. 406,606.

over of the built-up type which is provided on opposite sides with wheeltread engaging members for assisting the flanged wheels of the railroadvehicle past the cross-over and which due to their functionof'protecting the flanges of the Wheels, willbe referred to hereinafterby their commercial name of flange guards and easer joints. .The presentapplication constitutes a companion case with a similar applicationfiled under even date and having Serial No. 406,605.

In the companion application there was featured a solid frogconstruction in which a combined flange guard and easerjoint were formedin one piece and demountably se cured on opposite sides of the main partof the solid frog structure and in which the solid frog constructionalsoformed a base support forthe combined flange guard and easer joint.

The present disclosure constitutes, 1n effect, a modification of theshowing in the above identified application in that the demountableflange guard featured in the prior application is assembled with abuilt-up frog of some conventional form to provide a simple and readilyformed type of fiange guarded cross-over which will perm t the readyreplacement of worn parts without the necessity of scrapping either theentire frog or any unworn parts thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a frog construction of thetype outlined, the parts of which can be made up from standard parts andslightly modified in situ, if necessary, to form any particularcharacter or size of frog desired in any particular location. 7

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simplified tyingmeans for securingthe assembled parts of the frog construction in fixedposition relative to each other and at the same time to secure theflange guards in set position and yet in pos1t1on so that they may bereadily replaced.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will be in partobvious from an inspection ofthe accompanying drawings and in part willbe more fully set forth in the following particular description of oneform of mechanism embodying my invention, and the invention alsoconsists in certam new and novel features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

F1gure 1 is a plan view of a frog construction illustrating a preferredembodiment of the invention and Figs. 2 and 3 are each transversesectional views taken. respectively on the lines 2-2 and 3-3 of Fig. 1looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Patented June 28, 1921.

In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identifiedby specific names for convenience of expression but they are intended tobe as generic in their application to similar parts as the art willperm1t.

In the drawings, there are shown the usual supporting ties at thecrossover positioned on which is a built-up frog construction which isof more or less conventional form and which has been selected to showthe application of the replaceable guards to a conventional structure.In Fig. -1 there is shown a pair of service rails 10 and 11 disposed atan angle to each other and with their adjacent ends cut to a bevel andconnected to form the frog point 12. Another pair of rails 13 and 14 aredisposed for their main length at an angle to each other and designed toform continuations respectively of the rails 11 and 10 across the joint.The service rails 13 and 14 are extended past the point 12 on oppositesides thereof and have their end portions bent outwardly to form flaredends and are spaced apart by filler blocks 20. The point 12 is held inposition midway between the portions of the rails 13 and 14: within theoutlines of the frog and identified hereinafter as wing rails, by

wedge filler blocks 21 and 22 disposed on opposite sides of the point.Certain of the parts are held together by through bolts 23 and it is tobe understood in general that the construction as thus far described isof conventional form.

The organization of parts so far recited to form the frog is mountedupon one or more base plates 24-, which in Fig. 1 are shown to be threein number, and positioned on adj acent ties. The base'plates are ofwide, practically flat steel plates, are ofsimilar form andextend'transversely of the length of the frog. The base plates areprovided at opposite ends with upstanding shoulders 25 con stitutingprojections preferably formed integral with the plates, disposed inspaced relation to the wing rails, and positioned-on opposite sidesthereof as shown in Fig. 2. A pair of preformed castings 26 eachconstituting a combined flange guard and easer joint are positioned onoppositesides of the frog construction and lap the'point 12 as shownmore particularly in Fig. 1. The wheel rim engaging portion 27 of themember :26 is widened toward the "heel end of the same to provide abroad surface 27' which overlaps the rail at this point and constitutesa tread guard.

The flange guard'26 is provided on its inner side with an upstandingmember 29 shaped to fit snugly against the adjacent face of the wingrail and rests at its lower end upon the upper face of the lower outerflange 30 of the engaged wing rail. The guard also includes an outwardlyextending bottom flange 31 with the lower face 32 designed to bedisposed in the common plane which contains the lower faces of theseveral surface rails so as to provide a broad bearing surface forengaging the base plate 2a or other support for the construction. Longthrough bolts 33 are passed through the service rails,through'theinterspacing filler blocks and through one or both of the flange guardsso as to securely fasten the several parts rigidly in position and yetto fasten the parts so that they may be readily demounted forreplacement or repair.

Supplementing this means for connecting the parts together additionalmeans are illustrated for locking the combined frog construction withits guard rails to the base plate 32. For this purpose wedges 34; aredriven between the projecting shoulder 25 on one side and theadjacentflange 31 which wedges are locked to the base plate by bolt and slotconnections 35 provided with lock nuts 36. It is obviously within thescope of the invention to duplicate the wedge on opposite sides oftheconstruction.

In order to more effectively lock the parts in position in the situationwhere at least two base plates are used the construction of the lowerflange of the guards illustrated in Fig. 1 is suggested. In this showingtheouter edge 41 of one of the flanges 31 is inclined inwardly to formconverging sides 37 and the flange engaging edges 38 of the wedges arecut at an angle to the length of the. slot in the slotted construction35 to engage the inwardly and centrally directed edge 37 in such a.manner that moving the wedges away from each other and longitudinally ofthe length of the construction on each side will tend in their effort tomove the guard in opposite directions to press the tion free of anylooseness of parts and capable of withstanding strains to which suchdevices are subjected in a mannerwhich has proven entirely satisfactoryin practical operation. I

It is usually true that due to the fact that traflic is heavier in onedirection than the other over any particular oint, one of the guardrails will wear away more rapidly than the other. In order to replaceany such worn rail in the device disclosed it is simply necessary toremove the holding bolts,loosen the wedges, remove the worn rail andreplace the'same with a new guard and this replacement can be'eflectedpractically without changing any of the parts of the builtup frogconstruction and even without removing the through bolts from theirposition. It is possible with the construction disclosed to make changesin the relative arrangement of the service rails, simply by shifting thewedging filler blocks or replacing the same with other filler blocks ofa different size and this can be effected while using a standard form ofcombined flange guard and, ease'r joint. Not only can the flange guardbe replaced when worn without affecting the present position of the frogbut the service rails may likewise be re placed simply by loosening thewedges and withdrawing the through bolts, inserting the new rail inposition and tightening upthe wedges and bolt carrying means.

no material interruptionisnecessary to the service across the frog. V 1

In those situations where the wedge plates are confined to one side ofthe structure as shown in Fig. 1, the flange 31 is provided withextensions 39 which engage against the adjacent shoulders 25 and aresecured to the base plate by bolts 40.

While I have shown and described, and have pointed out in the annexedclaims, certain novel features of my invention, it will be understoodthatvarious omissions, substitutions and changes in the form and detailsof the device illustrated and in its op oration maybe made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention. I claim: I

1. In a built-up railroad frog construction,

spaced apart service rails extending .at an angle to each other,desin'od'to form contin- 4 a l nat ons of the first named pair acrossthe frog and constituting wing rails extending on op- 7 As thissubstitution of parts can be effected quickly the cembination of pair ofservice rails eX- jposit'e sides of and continuous beyond the point,wedging filler blocks disposed between the service rails and between thepoint and the outside wing rails to hold the point in fixed positionrelative to the wing rails, a pair of combined flange guards and easerjoints, each including an upstanding inner part resting on the lowerflange of one of the wing rails, and having a configuration to fit theouter face of said wing rail opposite the point and also including adownwardly and outwardly inclined extension in spaced relation to theinner part and having an outwardly extending supporting flange andthrough bolts passing through the service rails, through the fillerblocks and through the combined flange guards and easer joints to tiethe built-up construction together.

2. In a built-up railway frog construction, the combination of a baseplate extending laterally of the length of the construction, a pair ofservice rails fashioned to form the point of the frog disposed on saidbase plate, a pair of transversely spaced apart service rails disposedon said base plate disposed to the outside of and spaced from the point,wedge filler blocks disposed between the point and the outside rails tohold the same in fixed relative position, flange guards fitted to theouter sides of the outside rails and dis posed on said base plate, andwedging means between the base plate and the flange guards for securingthe parts of the construction rigidly in position.

3. In a built-up frog construction, the combination with a base plate,two pairs of service rails resting on said base plate, and spacingfiller blocks disposed between the service rails and coacting therewithto form a built-up frog construction, with certain of V, the servicerails provided on their outer sides with guard receiving faces, offlange guards engaging said faces resting on said base plate and wedgingmeans disposed between the base plate and guards for securing the guardsin engagement with the frog construction.

l. In a rail frog construction the combination of a base plate having anupwardly extending projection adjacent one end, a frog constructionresting on said plate in spaced relation to the projection and having aguard receiving surface facing the projection, a flange guard on saidplate engaging said surface and a wedge driven between the projectionand flange guard to secure the same in place relative to the frogconstruction.

5. In a rail frog construction, the combination of a base plate providedwith wedge engaged extensions at opposite ends, a frog constructionextending across the plate, disposed between the extensions and inspaced relations thereto, a pair of flange guards demountably positionedon opposite sides of the frog construction and engaging the same and awedge disposed between each extension from the plate and the adjacentflange guard, said wedges coacting to secure the flange guards and frogconstruction in fixed position relative to each other and to the baseplate.

6. In a rail frog construction, the combination of a base plate havingan upwardly tending projection adjacent one end, a frog constructionresting on said plate in spaced relation to the projection and having aguard receiving surface facing the projection, a flange guard engagingsaid surface and a wedge driven between the projection and flange guardto secure the same in place relative to the frog construction, afrog-construction-securing-bolt horizontally disposed and spaced fromthe base plate for securing the flange guard to the frog constructionindependently of, and supplementing, the securing efliect of said wedge.

7. In a built-up frog construction, the combination with an organizationincluding four transversely disposed rails with the two inner railscoacting to form the frog point and said rails having bottom flangeswith their bottom faces disposed in a common horizontal piano, andfiller blocks disposed between the rails, of a flange guard having awide spreading base including an. upstanding member engaging the outerface of one of the outer rails and resting on the top side of the lowerflange of said engaged outer rail, said flange guard also having anouter, inclined member provided with an outwardly extending bottomflange with its bottom face disposed in the plane of the bottom face ofthe rails and means for securing the flange guard to said organizationof rails and interposed filler blocks.

8. In a built-up frog construction the combination with an organizationincluding four transversely disposed rails with the two inner railscoacting to form the frog point and said rails having bottom flangeswith their bottom faces disposed in a common horizontal plane, of aflange guard including an inner part engaging the outer face of one ofthe outer rails with the lower portion thereof engaging the top side ofthe lower flange of said engaged outer rail, said flange guard alsoincluding an outer part spaced from the inner part and provided with anoutwardly extending bottom flange with its bottom face disposed in theplane of the bottom face of the rails, and means to secure the same inset position.

9. In a railway frog construction, the combination of an organization ofparts forming a frog, a flange guard engaging the frog along one sidethereof, said guard provided with an outwardly extending bottom flange,the outer edge of said flange converging inwardly toward the centralportion of the flange, and wedges acting inopposite directionslongitudinally of the frog and engaging said inclined edges in oppositedirections.

10. Ina railway frog construction, the combination of an organization ofparts forming a frog, a flange guard engaging the "frog along one sidethereof, said guard provided with an outwardly extending bottom flange,the outer edge of said flange converging inwardly toward the centralportion of the flange, wedges acting in opposite directionslongitudinally of the frog, engaging said inclined. edges in oppositedirections, and means for locking the wedges in position. Y I

11. In a railway frog construction, the combination with a base platehaving an upwardly extending projection at opposite ends, anorganization ot'parts forming a frog disposed on the plate between theproyections, a flangeguard 'd1sposed between each projection and theadjacent side of the frog construction, each guard provided with abottom flange resting on the base plate, the outer edge of each of saidbottom flanges converging inwardly toward the mid-length of the flange,and wedges disposed between each projection and the adjacent inwardly inclined edge of the contiguous bottom flange.

Signed at New'Yorlr in the county of New York and State of New York this23rd day of August.

